Doctor Who: Radio Free Skaro

Radio Free Skaro welcomes back Katrina again as guest host, this time filling in for Warren, whose predilection for earning money to cover the cost of living prevented him from taking part this week. And, with the world of Doctor Who ramping up in advance of an actual new episode airing on April 11, there was plenty to talk about. But no spoilers! Spoilor has now been vanquished, so you may now listen to the show without fear of having future Who episodes ruined for you. As for the rest of the internet, you're on your own.

In the next of the RFS Wednesday Cutaway episodes, with no interviews in the pipeline, the Three Who Rule decided to actually put together a special episode themselves where the topic of discussion is if or when they think their favourite show might have possibly ever so slightly jumped the shark, with the discussion also turning toward the social commentary and forward-thinking it exhibited over its lifespan. Join in and see if you agree with the conclusions.Oh, and April Fools.

With all three of the Three Who Rule firmly back in their respective command chairs, it was back to good old fashioned sniping, infighting and jocularity as Pedantor made battle with both his old nemesis Rubbishor and a new, more deadly enemy named Sarcastor. Somehow in the midst of this pantheon of perfidious poltroonery some discussion of Doctor Who came into play, but not by any means on purpose.

Not strictly Doctor Who this week, but a cool interview all the same. The local chapter of SIGGRAPH (a group of computer graphics geniuses) brought Industrial Light and Magic special effects legend Dennis Muren to Vancouver, and Warren was able to interview him. Apologies for the dodgy audio during Warren's questions....the details are too boring to go into, but at any rate Muren's thoughts on visual effects, art and the motion picture industry are the good stuff.

With Steven currently roasting production codes out of his head under the fiery sun of Cuba, Chris and Warren decided mutiny was the appropriate response and welcomed Katrina (also known on Twitter as @xanister) to fill his gangly shoes. And not a moment too soon, as the Two Who Rule (and special guest) were inundated with a surfeit of news, both plausible and spoiler-diculous.

With only Comic Relief and a mini-SJA episode (story?) starring a flatulent Ronnie Corbett, the Three Who Rule had little in the way of solid material to mold into gorgeous verbal statuary with their mellifluous locution this week. But thanks to the power of digression, they managed to unleash a torrent of nonsense almost unparalleled in the annals of Skarosian myth and legend. And all of it for you, dear listeners.

Our Wednesday Cutaway series continues with this, our chat with Simon Guerrier recorded at Gallifrey '09. Simon has written many a Doctor Who short story, as well as several Big Finish audio stories - about which you will hear now!

In a surprising turn of events, this week's episode was chock full of news...an unwelcome development with a "The Next Doctor" commentary bearing down on the Three Who Rule like a Cyber-King hell-bent on justifying its own lack of continuity. Being the brave souls they are, your gallant hosts soldiered on and brought not only the most current of current events in all of Who-dom, but also a sterling commentary on David Morrissey's debut as the Next Doctor. Oh yes, and David Tennant made some sort of appearance as well.

In our ongoing Wednesday special series featuring interviews and such from Gallifrey ‘09 in February (just to see how long we can milk it), we bring you an interview with Doctor Who Restoration Team impresario Steve Roberts, wherein he discusses past and future projects regarding the classic Who DVD series.

Though the news was paltry (other than some serious SPOILERS for one of the upcoming specials near the 3/4 mark of the show), the Three Who Rule were able to bring their customary wit and verve to this week's proceedings, and even managed to create Rubbishor, a new crusader destined to unseat the cruel and debased rule of Pedantor. Watch this space for more exciting details on this clash of entirely fictional titans! Or...just listen to the podcast.

At Gallifrey '09, three of the most preeminent Doctor Who podcasts around - Podshock, Tachyon TV, and Radio Free Skaro - converged for a tell all panel entitled "So You Want To Podcast Doctor Who?", ready to dispense vital information to a room full of eager fans wanting to venture into the cutthroat world of podcasting. With three panelists per podcast, the panel was chock full of on-air talent; it looked like the Yalta Conference of podcasting. Of course, occuring at 11:00 AM on a Saturday morning, the energy in the room was far from palpable. And the party only really began once Damon from Tachyon TV started dispensing beer to all who wanted one (some of the panelists had, at that point, barely stopped drinking since the previous afternoon). But the panel's main goal was achieved - there actually more people in the audience than on the panel.Have a listen to the audio from the event here.

And so the post-Gallifrey exhaustion set in, and our stalwart heroes were left with nothing more than depression and a paltry smattering of news. And yet they soldiered on, digressing and discussing as before. Only..many weeks to go before Gallifrey 2010.

Radio Free Skaro's own Steven had the pleasure of interviewing Telos Publishing superstar David J Howe at Gallifrey 2009, in a discussion ranging from his reference works (most of which Steven owns) to his extensive knowledge of Doctor Who merchandise.

And with that, the craziest weekend in the history of Radio Free Skaro came to a close with an enervated Three Who Rule slumped around a microphone in their disheveled hotel room. They ran down their highlights (almost everything) and low lights (almost nothing) before jetting off to their respective patches of ground they call home, ready to come back to Gallifrey 21 next year and do it all again. Ah, the memories.

In the third of our (fictitious) award winning podcast pub chats with Doctor Who luminaries, Phil Ford (Sarah Jane Adventures head writer and writer of the next Doctor Who gap year special, "Return of the Bandrils") and Toby Hadoke (writer/performer of "Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf" and the revelation of the entire convention) dropped by for nigh on an hour and a half to talk about their experiences at the convention, their involvement in the Doctor Who universe, and offer general insight into what makes the show so great. During the chat, Gareth David-Lloyd (Ianto Jones from Torchwood) invited everyone (well, Phil) out to drinks somewhere else, and Phil did his damnedest to avoid giving away plot details for the next gap year special.

The Three Who Rule continued their blitzkrieg coverage of Gallifrey 2009 with not only a wicked hangover (Warren), jet lag (Chris) and a smug sense of clean living self-satisfaction (Chris), but also a sterling interview with one Rob Shearman, the scribe behind award-winning Big Finish titles such as “Chimes at Midnight,” “Holy Terror,” and “Jubilee,” which was later adapted into “Dalek,” the return of everyone’s favorite mean-tempered pepper pots to the new series. Also joining us was Jason Haigh-Ellery, head honcho of the Big Finish audios who was kind enough to supply us all with sweet, sweet, alcohol. Enjoy!

Later on the Saturday at Gallifrey, Toby Hadoke, hours before going on stage for the North American debut of his hit one-man show Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf, sat down with Warren to have a chat about the play and his love of the show in general. (Again, here's the audio, with the video version to come later) :Direct download: RFShadokeinterview.mp3

We at Radio Free Skaro are pretty excited about this : an exclusive interview with Phil Collinson! Phil was nice enough to sit down a chat with Warren. Check out the audio from it here (the video will be posted later!) :

For the first time in recorded history, in an event sure to be recorded in the annals of time across all universes parallel and otherwise, the RFS crew met in person at Gallifrey 2009 in Los Angeles, and thus was a podcast birthed from the loins of the Airport Marriott. And as a special bonus, John Williams and Neil Perryman of Tachyon TV joined in on the fun and regaled us with tales of Torchwood dodginess, Tomorrow People memories, and the utter strangeness of Sapphire and Steel.

In the last episode before the Three Who Rule arrive in Los Angeles and dispense their own particular brand of Canadian havoc, the news was sparse but the banter broad, ranging from Al Waxman's storied career all the way to....well, the shenanigans to come at Gallifrey 2009.

This week saw a surfeit of news for the Three Who Rule to chew over, and masticate they did as they analyzed, cogitated...and digressed into discussions of Matt Houston, black and white action figures, the questionable acting talents of one Derek Jacobi, and a beast named Pedantor.

The Three Who Rule had barely any news to discuss this week, but that didn't stop them from talking about the upcoming Gallifrey convention in LA, mysterious destroyed buses in Dubai, and (of all things) 80's Lee Majors vehicle "The Fall Guy." You have been warned.

The Three Who Rule plunged forward as usual into the exciting world of Doctor Who news and other related shenanigans, but took time to examine the gloriousness that was The Prisoner, the late Patrick McGoohan's psychedelic masterpiece. Be seeing you!

After a dusty couple of weeks battling Sutekh, the Hand of Sutekh, and mysterious fez-clad villains, Warren returned to North American soil from Egypt a little dusty but still full of verve for all things Who. Of course, now that the new Doctor has been announced, along with the airing of the Next Doctor, there was little in the way of real news to discuss, so the Three Who Rule made do with fawning over the impossibly cute Character Options figures due later this year, along with digressions into the works of Clint Eastwood and Tombstone, Kurt Russell's mustachioed magnum opus.

While Warren battles gun-wielding, fez-wearing servants of Sutekh, Steven and Chris discuss the big news of the announcement of David Tennant's replacement in Who's eponymous role. The Two of the Three compare the nascent Mr. Smith's ascension with the oncoming of past Doctors of yore and ultimately conclude it's far too early to know what to expect from this whippersnapper. The discussion by way of commentary of Ghost Light also occurs as the remaining hosts take on the much-overlooked Season 26 story, no doubt to the delight of the erstwhile McCoy-bashing Mr. Frey.

With Warren in Egypt seeking to be the plaything of Sutekh, it was left to Chris and Steven to hash out their opinions of the recent Doctor Who Christmas special "The Next Doctor". As if an RFS episode without Warren wasn't weird enough, both Chris and Steven were actually in the same room to record this week's installment. The resulting proximity meant that the duo stayed remarkably on topic, but still managed to find time to comment on Survivors, Coronation Street and Canada's chances at the World Junior hockey tournament. Behold!

The Three Who Rule were all back on terra firma (ie. North America) this week, and the usual Who-ish banter of course centred around the imminent showing of "The Next Doctor", due December 25th on UK TVs and computers worldwide. But that didn't stop the jaunty (and in the case of Chris, jet-lagged) japemeisters from venturing forth on the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (conclusion: crap), along with an altogether too long talk about the merits of various Star Trek series, before sauntering back to the matter at hand. Next week, Chris and Steven are left to their own devices, as Warren wanders to Egypt to battle Sutekh and save 1980 from Armageddon, seen through the TARDIS doors as terrible model photography and CSO.

For the first time in a long time, the Three Who Rule went sans commentary and digressed, postulated, and even went off topic (twice!) in the middle of a sentence. The hygiene of certain Sex in the City characters, Steve Coogan, Big Finish audios, and oh yes, the latest Doctor Who news headlines were hashed over, giggled at, and finally shunted aside as your gallant crew went completely off the rails. Hoo-ray!

And so it's come to this. At long last the RFS crew reaches "Journey's End," the final episode of Series Four, and a story that nicely sums up Who scribe Gareth Roberts term of "anticipointment." So much potential, frittered away in a fruitless wasting of the Rose story arc and Benny Hill-esque dispatchment of the Daleks. Still, Julian Bleach's Davros and the sad fate of Donna Noble rescued the episode from the Trash-Bin of Utter Contempt (next door neighbour to the Gun of Spite) and gave our three heroes much gristle to chew over, spit out, and look at askance.

More thrilling commentary, this time for the "Stolen Earth," clearly the best roller coaster ride of Series 4, if not of the entire run of the new series. It's all downhill from here though, as "Journey's End" is coming up next, and we all know how that turned out. Still, witticisms and nerdy banter ahead!

The Three Who Rule were efficacious in their praise for Turn Left, a tour de force performance from Catherine Tate and the best part of Rose's rather presumptuous arrival into Series 4. Of course, a good episode means we spend most of our time rapt in wonder and not actually commentating, but we made a special effort to lay down some bon mot as we enjoyed things being on Donna's back, Doctors dying and mirrors sending people sideways through time.Oh yes, and happy 45th birthday, Doctor Who.

"Midnight," Series Four's "Donna-lite" episode, got a solid round of "well dones" from the Three Who Rule, due to some fine acting and gold old-fashioned claustrophobic writing, harkening back to the old days of silver jumpsuits and very limited sets. We also covered what little there was to say about the two minute teaser for "The Next Doctor," airing this Christmas in England and very shortly thereafter on computers across the globe. Allons-y!

Chris ran into some serious technical difficulties this week, but eventually sucked up his pride and used a PC rather than his beloved Mac to deliver unto you, our loyal fans, a commentary of "Forest of the Dead." And that's it really, there was no news (other than a rather impressive changing of the guard in Washington, D.C.) to discuss, and for the most part the Three Who Rules stayed on-topic and focused on the episode playing out in front of them. Amazing.

Our commentary on "Silence in the Library" was upstaged somewhat by one David Tennant's decision to quit the role of The Doctor after the four 2009 specials. Fandom was agog, aflame and otherwise a-twitter with speculation on who the next Doctor will be, and we were no different, making this one of our longer prognostications. And we sort of stayed on topic every once in a while....occasionally. Also, as of next week we promise there'll be no more political appeals to our American listeners, for better or for ill.

Chris returned to the fold and lost no time flinging acerbic barbs in the direction of "The Unicorn and the Wasp," quite possibly the low point of Season 4, and certainly a story we mostly ignored in our commentary. One can hardly blame the Three Who Rule for their disinterest, but at least there's goings on in the Library (silent ones) to indulge in next week.

Steven and Warren braved the depths of mediocrity in order to bring you "The Doctor's Daughter," one of the lesser lights of Season Four. But after six months since our original viewing, it must be said that David Tennant rises to the occasion and puts in some first-rate acting in an otherwise fourth rate story. Brace yourselves and listen, chums.

With Chris still wandering around London without anything more than a 3G iPhone, it was up to Warren and Steven to again take the helm and offer the latest morsels of news about all things Who and bloviate on the Poison Sky, the second part of the Sontaran's return to form. Though precious little was actually aid about the episode at hand, Warren did manage to transfigure the Sontaran war cry into OBAM-HA! surely a new rallying cry for these final days of the American election campaign.

With the Third Guy back in England and without any Internet to speak of at the moment, it was up to Warren and Steven to bring...very little in the way of news, a brief review of the first episode of Season 2 of the Sarah Jane Adventures, and a commentary for "the Sontaran Stratagem," a welcome return of an old favorite enemy from the classic series. Not that the pair stayed on topic all that much (if at all) but nonetheless, things of a potato-headed nature were duly noted and celebrated.

The Three Who Rule tackled "Planet of the Ood" this week, one of the better efforts of Series Four and, due to the strange nature of the Ood visage, a chance to make many jokes about ladyparts. There were also terrible puns involving the word "ood." Oodly enough (ouch.) Enjoy, all!

The Three Who Rule waxed eloquent this week upon "The Fires of Pompeii", one of the highlights of Season Four and ruminated upon a surfeit of news, most of it debunking headlines from the Sun (which will later prove to be true, most likely.) Hilarity and shenanigans for all! Or...something. Anyway, enjoy the episode.

And with that, Radio Free Skaro reached 100 episodes. It's been a strange trip for the Three Who Rule to internet femto-celebrity and renown as slightly amusing Whovian reprobates, but here we are. And we celebrate this milestone by beginning our Season Four commentaries with "Partners in Crime." Allons-y!

More fake news and the continuation of our commentary for "Monster of Peladon" which, using our amazing ability to create nonsensical backstories to sustain interest, became a compelling after-school special about Ruprecht, the Special Needs Ice Warrior who just can't get a break.

The Three Who Rule were joined by a fourth, RFS friend Michael, who not only chimed in with commentary but also provided Chris with much needed Internet tubes for said conversing. The subject at hand? “The Monster of Peladon,” one of Pertwee’s lesser lights. Our bile was relentless as we criticized just about everything this story had to offer…which was little to begin with. Enjoy!

Never let it be said that Radio Free Skaro digresses or makes up its own back story for the classic series episodes that we commentate on...because that's precisely what we do, especially in Day of the Daleks, our latest butchery of the works of Jon Pertwee. Not a bad story overall, enhanced by our analysis of Jo's mental state (lukewarm), the secret life of Sir Reginald (tawdry) and the gaseous state of Chris's belly.

Things took a turn for the psychedelic this week, as the Three Who Rule recorded a commentary for "The Claws of Axos", a story best described as a product of its time. And what a time it was, with nasty video effects, UNIT mayhem, and the inimitable Bill Filer, Yankee Unit Operative and suave man of action. Filer!!

News was sparse this week, but all the better for us to leap into commentary on "The Five Doctors," one of the most pleasurable bits of fanwank to grace the British small screen, at least until "The Stolen Earth." Next week, the adventures of the intrepid Bill Filer in "Claws of Axos." Whee!

A titanic torrent of news was only the beginning of this mammoth episode of Radio Free Skaro, which featured almost an hour's worth of banter even before we got around to commentary on "Robot", Tom Baker's debut story. Much as the crew has a certain fondness for this tale of fascistic scientists, errant droids and wonky regenerative antics, they were unsparing in their criticism of the silliness on screen...and Warren said "MADOC!" a lot. Enjoy!

Despite the madness of Comic-con and Warren's current geographical position in San Diego, Radio Free Skaro continues with the second part of our "Talons of Weng Chiang" commentary. Wit, abandon, and politically correct tut-tutting of Chinese stereotypes await!

The three jaunty fellows were pleased as punch to commentate on one of the high points of Tom Baker's career, "The Talons of Weng Chiang," a fantastic set of episodes by the late, great Robert Holmes (though unfortunately marred by the casual racism of the period.) Since Talons is longer than a trip on a Victorian steamer to the colonies, we decided to split the commentary into two parts. Warren will be at San Diego Comic-Con next Sunday, but he'll do his best to get Part 2 off his hard drive and onto the Internet in a timely fashion.

The dark times begin as we enter a solid half year with no new Who, but the august crew at Radio Free Skaro have ably responded to this gulf in quality televisual spectacle with a new series of Classic series commentaries, beginning (sort of) with Black Orchid, a Davison two-parter done on the cheap and set in the 1920s. Sarcasm and japes, anyone?